Tiny Wonders: Pollyanna and the Fourth of July Weekend

How a Classic Heroine’s “Glad Game” Helps Us See Joy in Every Firework

Part of the Tiny Wonders series: short reflections on children’s books, faith, and everyday holiness.

A young girl celebrates the Fourth of July with joyful enthusiasm—the kind of gladness Pollyanna would champion. Photo courtesy of Unsplash.

Dear fellow wonderers,

My daughter is reading Pollyanna for the second time right now: she’s fallen in love with the story, just like her brother did before her when he had to read it the summer before fourth grade. This Fourth of July at her mom’s nudging, she also rewatched the classic 1960 Hayley Mills film adaptation. We both loved the big Fourth of July scene where the town gathers for a raucous celebration complete with fireworks, laughter, and children wrapped in red, white, and blue costumes, belting out “America the Beautiful” on stage. It’s a moment of pure, unabashed joy; Pollyanna’s gladness transforms not just individuals but the entire community she loves.

First published in 1913, Eleanor H. Porter’s Pollyanna tells the story of an irrepressible orphan who plays what she calls the Glad Game—finding something to be glad about in every situation, no matter how bleak. As Pollyanna explains:

“Why, it’s a game. Father told it to me, and it’s lovely. We’ve played it always, ever since I was a little, little girl…the game was just to find something about everything to be glad about—no matter what ’twas.” (Pollyanna, 1913)

You can read the full text of Pollyanna for free online at Project Gutenberg.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to play the Glad Game in our own time. I explored this in my article, “The Glad Game in the Twenty-First Century: Reclaiming Pollyanna’s Optimistic Legacy,” which you can read here:
👉 Read the article

I also spoke about it in this podcast episode from “The Centre for Optimism,” where Victor Perton and I unpack how Pollyanna’s outlook can transform our lives today:
🎧 Listen to the podcast

For those looking to cultivate this kind of joy in your own lives, I highly recommend Shemaiah Gonzalez’s beautiful new book, Undaunted Joy: A Revolutionary Guide to Cultivating Delight (2024), which expands on themes of gladness, resilience, and faith. She discusses Pollyanna in her last chapter—and I think it’s her best one!
📖 Check out Shemaiah’s book

I’ve found Pollyanna’s approach an incredible journaling tool, one that helps me look for the hidden gifts in even the hardest days. It’s a great practice to do with your kids, too, especially when, like mine, they might forget to appreciate what they have or turn to negativity as their first reaction. (Now admittedly, their mother sometimes suffers from the same affliction/s.) What about you? Have you read or revisited Pollyanna lately? What are you glad about today?

In hope and holy curiosity,
LuElla